Lula says he will ‘prove corruption’ when talking about Eletrobras – 05/11/2023 – Market

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) once again criticized the privatization of Eletrobras on Thursday night (11). Earlier, the petista had already called the company’s privatization model “slutty”.

Substituting the prepared text in advance for an improvised speech unrelated to the theme of culture, the president criticized the privatization of Eletrobras in the Concha Acústica of Teatro Castro Alves, in Salvador (BA).

Lula criticized the fact that the government has 43% of the company’s shares after privatization, but 8% of representation on the company’s board. He also attacked the rule that the government has to pay three times more than the private sector if it wants to reacquire the state-owned company.

“That is, the government itself made a law harming the government and we are going to investigate, we are going to open a process, and we are going to try to prove the corruption that there was in this country so that the Brazilian people know who practiced corruption”, said Lula.

At the end of last week, President Lula asked the STF (Federal Supreme Court) to declare part of the Eletrobras privatization law unconstitutional, so that the Union would have a vote proportional to its shareholding in the company.

The request, made by the AGU (Attorney General of the Union), through an ADI (Direct Action of Unconstitutionality), tries to overturn the section of the law that prohibits shareholders from casting votes in excess of 10% of the number of shares. The AGU lawsuit states that the Union retained 43% of the company’s common shares.

On Saturday, President Lula spoke again about Eletrobras and stated that he intends to file a lawsuit questioning the privatization of the company. The Chief Executive criticized limits created in the privatization of the company that make it difficult for it to be renationalized and questioned the remuneration of directors and directors of Eletrobras.

The president also criticized former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL), referring to reports that showed the assets of family members of Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid, Bolsonaro’s former right-hand man, in the United States.

“Just now they have just discovered a US$ 8 million house belonging to Bolsonaro’s assistant [Cid]. Surely an $8 million house is not for the aide. It certainly is for the champion of discord, for the champion of ignorance, for the champion of denialism,” she said.

The beginning of Lula’s speech was interrupted by the cry of a woman in the audience — Rosimeire dos Santos, leader of the quilombola community Rio dos Macacos, in Salvador, who is fighting in court for land titles.

Invited to the stage, she knelt down, said that her people “were dying” and handed papers for the president to sign. Lula, then, began his emotional speech by saying that the woman “represents a little of what the Brazilian people go through”. He then stated that he would dispense with the text he had prepared and would speak impromptu.

Thursday night’s act formalized the regulation of the Paulo Gustavo Law. This Wednesday (10), the Minister of Culture Margareth Menezes announced the release of R$ 3.86 billion through the law. In 2023, the portfolio’s total budget will be R$ 10 billion.

The text of the Paulo Gustavo Law, sanctioned in December 2022 still in the Bolsonaro government, provides for transfers to states, municipalities to help the cultural sector recover from the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, which suspended most in-person shows.

The idea is that the money reaches the 26 states, the Federal District, in addition to all 5,570 Brazilian municipalities. Of the total resources made available, R$ 2 billion will be allocated to states and R$ 1.8 billion to municipalities.

Earlier, Lula launched Brasil Participativo in Salvador, a digital platform that will allow the participation of the population in decisions about how federal resources should be invested. The event also marked the opening of the Participatory Pluriannual Plan.

The act was attended by hundreds of people, including trade unionists, social movement activists, mayors and deputies. But it was also marked by the imbroglio with the MST (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra): the entity accused the Minister of the Civil House, Rui Costa, of having barred the presence of the landless at the ceremony. The minister denied the veto.